USS ''Jerome County'' (LST-848) was an built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Named after

Jerome County, Idaho Jerome County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census the county had a population of 24,237. The county seat and largest city is Jerome. The county was created by the Idaho Legislature on February 8, 1919, from a parti ...

, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. USS ''LST-848'' was laid down on 6 November 1944 at

Ambridge, Pennsylvania Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population ...

by the

American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsb ...

; launched on 21 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. F. D. Porter; and commissioned on 20 January 1945.

Service history

World War II, 1945

Following shakedown off

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, LST-848 departed

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

on 24 February for the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. After touching

Balboa, Panama Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. It was the capital of the Panama Canal Zone under American administration. History The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the constru ...

in the

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...

and West Coast ports, she proceeded to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, arriving at Kalua Harbor on 9 April. For the next six weeks, she engaged in amphibious exercises in the Hawaiian Islands before sailing to the

Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...

. Arriving at

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

on 11 June, ''LST-848'' shuttled troops and equipment from the Marianas to

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

for the duration of World War II.

1945–1946

When Japan accepted Allied peace terms, thereby ending the war, the landing ship was assigned to transport occupation forces in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. Operating between the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and Japan, ''LST-848'' carried troops, vehicles, and cargo to support American forces in the Pacific. She departed Japan in early December and, after stays at

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

and

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, arrived at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on 11 February 1946. Following operations along the West Coast, she sailed to

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

early in April and decommissioned at

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

on 10 August 1946. While berthed with the Columbia River group,

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

, ''LST-848'' was named USS ''Jerome County'' (LST-848) on 1 July 1955.

1959–1965

''Jerome County'' recommissioned on 7 December 1959, then completed a shakedown along the Pacific coast. On 14 May 1960 she departed from

San Pedro, Los Angeles San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

for mid-Pacific missile operations out of

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...

. After five months in support of the U.S. missile program, she returned to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

late October. During 1961, ''Jerome County'' participated in amphibious training exercises along the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

coast; then on 12 January 1962 she sailed for the mid-Pacific. Assigned to "

Operation Dominic Operation Dominic was a series of 31 nuclear test explosions ("shots") with a total yield conducted in 1962 by the United States in the Pacific. This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet resumption of t ...

", she performed weather studies, charting, and communications during the U.S. nuclear tests of that year. The veteran LST returned to San Diego on 18 August to resume amphibious training exercises. From August 1962 until August 1965 ''Jerome County'' usually operated along the West Coast in addition to two mid-Pacific deployments.

Vietnam War, 1965–1970

Following the increased American commitment to assist the

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

ese government against the

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

ese

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

s, ''Jerome County'' sailed for

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

on 10 August 1965. Arriving

Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Khu Kinh Tế M� ...

, South Vietnam on 11 September, she supported U.S. operations in Asia for the next three months. The landing ship returned San Diego on 22 December. ''Jerome County'' sailed again for the Far East on 3 March 1966 and arrived at

Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...

, South Vietnam, on 8 April. She unloaded her cargo and continued shuttling supplies, ammunition, and equipment in and out of the war zone until departing from

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

on 1 September for home. She arrived at San Diego on 13 October and operated along the West Coast for the remainder of the year and into 1967 preparing for future action.

Transfer to South Vietnam, and the Philippines

In mid-1969 a planned fourth

n deployment was cancelled, and ''Jerome County'' was instead prepared for transfer abroad. Decommissioned again on 1 April 1970 she was turned over, via lease, to the

Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; - ''HQVNCH''; was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats f ...

that same month. She became the Republic of Vietnam Navy ship RVN ''Nha Trang'' (HQ-505) in April 1970. Five years later, at the fall of

, she escaped to the

and subsequently became the Philippine Navy's RPS ''Agusan Del Sur'' (LT-54). The ship was decommissioned by 1986, and was discarded by the Philippine Navy about 1992. Her final fate is unknown.

Awards

''LST-848'' earned one award of the Presidential Unit Citation, one award of the

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

, and five

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

References

External links

History of USS ''Jerome County'' (LST-848)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerome County (Lst-848) LST-542-class tank landing ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Philippine Navy Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Vietnam Navy World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Vietnam War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Ambridge, Pennsylvania 1944 ships